Some people, including Human Rights Watch’s Director Ken Roth and politicians like Rabina Khan have taken the opportunity of a global pandemic to defend the burqa/niqab by comparing it with mandatory face mask rulings used in the fight against Covid-19….

A wave of feminism is sweeping across the Middle East and North Africa region. Part of this wave is created by anonymous feminists from their social media accounts. Celebrities are also riding the wave, enjoying being celebrated as feminist activists…

The false equivalence of masks and veils The unprecedented outbreak of COVID-19 has challenged human attitudes. Our lives are dictated by the new uncertainties; we are developing new habits. We have been pushed into isolation, while wearing masks and maintaining…

One in three start-ups in the Middle East and North Africa region is founded or led by a woman, which is a much higher percentage than in Silicon Valley. Women in Arab countries make up for 34-57% of STEM graduates,…

In France and Canada, it is now mandatory to wear a face mask in public. Yet in both countries it is still unlawful to wear a niqab or burqa in public. Presidents Macron and Trudeau have effectively mandated that Muslim…

A few weeks before the lockdown, while the Conservative party were in the midst of developing their post-Brexit points-based immigration system , the Home Secretary Priti Patel stated that those earning less than £25,000 annually were in ‘low-skilled’ jobs and therefore not…

A recent article on the BBC entitled ‘Ethnic Minorities ‘a third’ of COVID-19 Patients’ outlines the racial aspect of health inequalities within the UK. Similar articles have been published in other news outlets, including the Guardian and Al-Jazeera. This article provides a…

Yesterday on International Day of Families, Muslim women around the world were asking, If not now, when? The gendered impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has dredged the many injustices and discriminations women face in the family to the surface. The…

The sound of a woman hitting a nail firmly on the head A couple of days ago in Parliament, Rosena Allin-Khan, the newly appointed Shadow Minister for Mental Health, was told by Matt Hancock, Health Secretary, to ‘watch her tone’….

A new wave of feminism is sweeping across the Arab region. A strong and unprecedented wave of feminist activism is inundating the Middle East and North Africa with the help of social media platforms, especially Twitter. Many accounts on Twitter…

“Peace is not just the absence of war. Many women under lockdown for #COVID19 face violence where they should be safest: in their own homes. Today I appeal for peace in homes around the world. I urge all governments to put women’s…

Words matter. The response to the novel coronavirus is not a war and the belligerent language used in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic could do more harm than good. The reasons are simple: the use of war metaphors, be it…

For many women, home is a place that they can be themselves. After a long busy day in the office, most go home and take off their professional garb and let it all hang loose. They don’t have to watch…

We are in the midst of something none of us have ever experienced before. It’s challenging to know the right thing to do. The measures taken to prevent further spread of COVID-19, such as lock-down practices, might seem extreme. However,…

Orthodox religious communities around the world have refused to comply with government instructions requiring people to stay home and avoid all possible social interaction despite the coronavirus crisis. This reckless attitude is causing a faster spread of the potentially fatal…